Wednesday, May 04, 2016

A week ago this man repeated a vicious fairy tale of murder and magic that he maintains exemplifies how he'll deal with the problems of the world.

Go apologize to your Muslim neighbors. You may have trouble holding up your head if you think about it. Dana Milbank has a thorough run down of violent attacks on Muslims apparently arising out of the permission this man is giving his followers.

6 comments:

For those who are frustrated that Bernie can win a lot of states but be denied the nomination by way of 'super delegates' and who say they won't vote in the fall, keep in mind this outcome in the fall. Even if someone is in a state that will by nature go for Hillary or alternatively for Trump, voting also provides numbers; and when she wins, she needs to have a large population behind her to give her oomph for her programs (whatever they might be-- sorry, couldn't resist that). Truly we need to vote and accept that there are only two choices and Trump is the other one...

Bernie is not being denied by the superdelegates. Unless he miraculously wins more than 75% of the popular vote in CA, he is going to lose the committed delegate count as well, and at that point, the superdelegates should support HRC. As much as I dislike the superdelegate rules, think how much the right would like to have that option so they could pick someone other than the narcissistic moron they are stuck with.

I live in VT and I've been donating to Bernie's campaign monthly since it started. I don't think he's been cheated. I think he simply didn't have enough registered Dems behind him compared to HRC. He knew the rules for closed primaries when he jumped into the race. In some places, independents would have no say and he has lost those states.

I'm not a fan of HRC, but it's imperative that we don't let an asshole like Trump appoint anyone to the SCOTUS. Those appointments will last way longer than the term(s) of the next President. I'm working hard to get the #BernieOrBust people to see the risk they place us in if they can't support HRC on election day. To be honest, I will not be surprised if whoever wins becomes a 1-term President.

Damon: I very much agree with you that whoever wins may be a one term president. I believe it will be HRC this November, but it would be irresponsible to default to assuming she wins easily. Hard times.

Am planning a post on the nomination rules -- several friends will be Bernie delegates and from this district, they'll get to go. :-) But the primary system has gotten old and creaky, out of sync with our general understanding of popular sovereignty.

He's not yet the nominee, but since Cruz dropped out yesterday and Kasich, today, it's only a matter of time. This will be a brutal half-year of campaigning, and if Hillary wins, she might have one term.

The longer-term solution to all this is building up other parties from the ground up. Doing this will take years, even decades of hard work at all levels. However, it will give people more choices, not just for electing presidents, but governors, mayors, senators, etc.

Dear Jan,Just read your blog, and would like to share my reaction:The US citizens should apologize to the people of the Philippines for smashing the Philippine’s war of Independence and the 1899-1902 War of invasion, and not specifically to their Muslim neighbors for this story of US atrocities in the Philippines directed, or so we are told, to “radical Islamic terrorists.” Doing so would mean confusing “radical Islamic terrorists” with Muslims in general.This confusion is dangerous, however understandable. After 80 years of the USA supporting the Saudi kingdom, and its “radical Islamic terrorist” ideology (Wahhabism), and 30 years of nurturing various “radical Islamic terrorists” to fight against the Soviet Union (or Russia today), Iraq and Syria, the US perception of Islam is totally skewed, and unable to disentangle the two concepts (“radical Islamic terrorism”/Wahhabism and Islam). However, outrage at the horrors recounted in Pershing’s story (whatever its historical truth), sounds to me coy, if not hypocritical. The American Empire has elevated “shock and awe” to an art form. Killing, in particularly ghastly ways, 50 insurgents, and making an example of such barbarity, is part of regular imperialist policy (French in Algeria or Vietnam, Belgian in Congo, British in Iraq, USA in countless countries since WWII).The Israeli politicians have tried to appear as “mad dogs” to their Arab victims since before the creation of the state of Israel, and never has any US voice criticized this attitude.If you want to really engage in a discussion of the issue raised by Trump, what needs to be analyzed is how effective “shock and awe” or “mad dog” policies are. Not their moral values. Imperialism is amoral.Now, on a different register. I think you should rejoice in the triumph of The Donald. I would not go as far as to tell you to work for his victory in the election, but at least do not do anything to prevent it. Why do I say that? Because if Donald Trump is elected, there is no way the USA can still claim for “American Exceptionalism” or to be “A city on the hill, and a light onto the nations” with a right to intervene anywhere on planet Earth, destroying countries and killing and maiming countless civilians. The chief of staff of the warmonger Hillary Clinton claims she would be a better leader for your country, and for the free world. Bone chilling words, much more than Trump’s…Cheers, neverthelessAlbert Beirut, Lebanon

What's this blog about?

My musings on current events, current projects, current anxieties and current delights.

I started this under the Bush regime when any grain of sand thrown into the gears of the over-reaching imperial state seemed worthwhile.

I have worked to elect more and better Democrats -- and to hammer the shit out of them once we get them in office so they do the things their constituents want and need. It's a big job.

I have endured the dashed potential for a more transformational regime under Obama. The man has made himself an accomplice in the imperial crimes of his predecessor as well as committing his own. He has also almost certainly been the most progressive president most of us will live to see. I fear we'll look back on his years in office with mild gratitude for a respite from national leadership that was habitually stupid and vicious, as well as wrong.

Visitors here will find a lot of commentary on books I'm reading. I am very intentionally reading intensively offline these days. When it feels hard to find direction, it's time to learn something new.

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About Me

I'm a progressive political activist who runs trails and climbs mountains whenever any are available. I've had the privilege to work for justice in Central America (Nicaragua and El Salvador), in South Africa, in the fields of California with the United Farmworkers Union, and in the cities and schools of my own country. I'm a Christian of the Episcopalian flavor; we think and argue a lot. For work, I've done a bit of it all: run an old fashioned switch-board; remodeled buildings and poured concrete; edited and published periodicals, reports and books; and organized for electoral campaigns. I am currently an independent consultant to organizations seeking "help when you have to make a fight."